


The last ray of moonlight on our graves

by SweetAlphaChild



Series: Tobidei Week 2020 [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Day 2, Deidara Lives, Fights, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fourth Shinobi War, M/M, Obito being Obito, Panic Attacks, TobiDei Week, TobiDei Week 2020, Uchiha Obito Lives, Unmasking Tobi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:21:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26960578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetAlphaChild/pseuds/SweetAlphaChild
Summary: "Beat the Sharingan. Beat the Rinnegan. Beat me, Deidara."
Relationships: Deidara/Tobi (Naruto), Deidara/Uchiha Obito
Series: Tobidei Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959256
Comments: 6
Kudos: 104
Collections: Tobidei Week 2020





	The last ray of moonlight on our graves

**Author's Note:**

> Tobidei Week 2020 Day 2: Unmasking Tobi.

The white plume of smoke covers half the sky, blocking the sun. Obito falls to his knees, his head spinning and his chest aching as if a dagger pierced his heart. His arms are trembling, he rips off his mask when breathing becomes difficult. Obito tries to fill his lungs but it's like the rock is on top of him again.

"Deidara!"

Obito shouts his partner's name, so loud that he hurts his throat. His gloved fingers dig into the dirt, squeezing it, tearing it apart. Over and over again, he yells his name, as if that's going to take him back in time enough to let him take the other decision of his dilemma. As if he had not been the one who left Deidara to his fate and allowed the fight to run its course in order to remove the biggest obstacle on his way to the Moon Eye plan.

"Deidara!"

His battered throat produces a cracking voice. When tears blur his field of vision, Obito collapses as he wonders why he did it, if he loved him. Why, if Deidara loved him back.

He answers himself, saying that he lost the right to personal desires a long time ago and that Deidara was there to serve the goal. The rest, the feelings, were a mistake that should have never happened.

"Deidara!"

No matter how much he repeats it, Obito still feels in his very bones that he just made the biggest mistake of his life. Up in the sky, the peculiarly shaped smoke spreads little by little, very slowly. Obito wishes he could erase it from there. It's only purpose seems to be to remind him that Deidara is dead, that he let him die, and that he is scum among scum.

Obito stands up as he puts the mask back on. A scarlet circle adorned with three black blades appears in the center of the hole in the orange mask. Deidara is dead, Tobi too and now it's Madara's turn to go out and play and execute the project for which he has sacrificed so much.

Time to stop being the clown. When he succeeds, Deidara can return to a safer world. A paradise on earth. At least, after he's banished the idea in his head that Deidara would loathe everything he's about to do.

* * *

Deidara opens his eyes and tries to move, but every muscle in his body is aching. Little by little, he manages to sit on the ground and look at the sky covered with his art. Deidara never believed that he would live to see his own masterpiece, but it turned out that a clay clone worked almost as well. Perhaps it did not cover ten kilometers in radius but having Sasuke at his mercy and with no possibility of escape made him realize that who he really wanted to kill was Itachi.

Watching the huge plume of smoke reaching beyond the clouds, Deidara gives a feeble laugh. Dying while killing that kiddo would have turned him into a ghost. Deidara refuses to spend the rest of eternity wandering around. Also, now he no longer has competition. No one is going to take away his prey. Tobi will possibly make fun of him for ending up so battered but he will look after him like he always does.

Deidara's laugh is cut short.

"Tobi," he mumbles and tugs at his hair with both hands as reality sinks in. Tobi may not have survived his explosion.

Deidara shakes, his widening eyes fixed on nowhere as he comforts himself by thinking that Tobi is fast, that his bombs never reached him before. Tobi is alive. He has to be alive. His mind can't wrap around the idea of Tobi being dead. Soon that disbelief turns into something else.

"Tobi, you dumbass!" He shouts with all the energy he has left, while remembering how his partner used to assure him that no bomb of his was ever going to touch him. His taunts used to annoy Deidara, and now all he wishes is that he had been right. "You promised me, you fucking idiot!"

Deidara stops, aware that he is going to need all his remaining strength to get out of there. Panting, he stands up, orients himself, and sets off to some sheltered place. On his index finger, the teal ring reminds him that he still belongs to Akatsuki. The last thing Deidara wants to do at that point is go back to that organization without Tobi. The good thing about his charade is that now everyone thinks he's dead.

Reaching into the battered leather pouch, Deidara searches for the hidden pocket with the emergency clay. He bites it in half and molds a C-1 bird. Zetsu will be able to locate him as long as the spore inside the ring is still there. Aware of the monster's diet and his intentions, Deidara prefers not to face him. He removes the ring and offers it to the bird, who takes it in its beak and flies away from there.

Step after step. Second after second, Deidara waits. He makes the seal of his technique and a bit of chakra leaves his body.

"Katsu!" He yells, and the explosion that follows makes him feel a bit better on that shitty day. Freer, yet just as lonely.

* * *

"The spore in Deidara's ring has been destroyed," White Zetsu says.

Obito bites his lip until he tastes blood on the tip of his tongue.

"Why did you let him blow his brains out, Tobi? We needed his power to besiege the villages that are reluctant to surrender their Jinchuuriki,” grunts Black Zetsu. "Also, Sasuke was very close to getting killed while you were just sitting there loafing around. You know he's important to us too."

"We have enough power!" Obito regrets straight away having raised his voice. "He served the Akatsuki well, but the plan is reaching a stage that would have clashed with that boy's philosophy. Would you rather have him as an enemy?" Obito can't bring himself to say Deidara's name. Every word he speaks hurts like a stab. "Also, that fight was good for me to test Sasuke. Had he died in it, he wouldn't have been of much use to me anyway."

White Zetsu smiles while his other side remains expressionless.

"What Tobi says sounds reasonable. Don't you think."

Black Zetsu takes a while to reply. "I guess so."

Obito prepares to leave.

"So, everything sorted," he says. "Now we have to wait for the boy to find Itachi and we can have an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan at our disposal."

After saying that, Obito gets in his personal dimension. Two days without Deidara. Two days without being able to sleep, feeling like the worst shit that ever walked the Earth. Obito is fed up with that circular train of thoughts, where he always ends up convincing himself that he did the right thing only to fall into guilt later.

He is aware that Deidara would not have wanted a grave but he is tempted to build him one anyway. He needs a place to go to talk to him just like he does with Rin. Obito takes off his mask and wipes the tears that run down his damaged cheek.

"You would have hated me," he says, clasping his palms. "I know you would have hated me. And I would have hated so much to see you hate me, no matter how much I deserve it. You came into my life too late. There was no hope for me or for us anymore.” Obito sniffs. "Deidara, if we ever meet in the next life, I'll make it up to you. Remind me in case I forget.

* * *

The silence is nerve-wracking.

Deidara disinfects his wounds and changes the bandages. His hands are cold and tingly all the time. Deidara hates to see how his hand-mouths barely move anymore. He wonders if he should go and hire a medical ninja from some minor village to heal the mess the Uchiha brat made in his arms. A D-rank mission like that shouldn't be very expensive.

Deidara bends the end of the bandage inward and steps out of that shed. The farmers do not seem to have noticed the fruit disappearing from their orchard or that someone comes in first thing in the morning to drink milk directly from the udder of their cows. It's almost like being at home, or in what was once his home, Deidara isn't sure if he's still welcome. The dogs have caught him a few times, but Deidara finds it a piece of cake to trick them.

In the afternoon, he leaves his hiding place and runs to a nearby forest to hunt something. As the partridge turns on the pole that he has mounted over the fire, Deidara's irritation sparks like a matchstick. Too much silence. There is a void in his heart that widens every time he thinks of Tobi and that he should be there by his side like always. Deidara takes a bite of the roasted thigh and promises that if Tobi is still alive, he will get him out of the Akatsuki and together they can be mercenary lovers.

The most expensive ones of the Bingo Book.

* * *

"Nagato betrayed me," Obito curses internally, after telling himself countless times that he wasn't going to think about it anymore. "Naruto talked to him and destroyed in a heartbeat everything I built for so many years."

A cloud covers the moon. The light diminishes and the faint shadow cast by the grave he made for Deidara, disappears. The crater still smells of smoke, months later.

Obito remembers the night he held a newborn Naruto in his arms, the tip of a kunai pointed at his fragile body. And now that baby returns, almost seventeen years later, to take it all away from him.

"Karma."

A shiver runs through Obito's body. It's not karma if he is right. It's cruelty.

"Not only did Nagato take away all my progress, he also destroyed what little I had left in the world. Rin's grave, the neighborhood I grew up in, grandma's house..."

Obito can't talk anymore. His arms are shaking, shivering.

"I would have gladly given that up, Deidara, if it had made me progress. I lost everything for nothing.” The moon peeks through the clouds again. "Nagato may have done me a favor but for some reason I can't forgive him. It was almost... Like losing Rin again." Was that why he had no mercy when fighting Konan? To make them pay? his new eye and his own start itching. "Shit, I hate ending up crying every time I come to see you. I gave up on you, I have no right to tell you this."

A breeze blows over the crater. Obito feels the cold on his face.

"Don't be jealous. In my perfect world, Rin will be with who she truly loves and we..."

Obito can't shake the feeling that he's talking nothing but nonsense.

"The Kages of the five great nations are meeting. It hadn't happened since Hashirama's time. I'm going to offer them a deal to save them suffering and death.” Obito twists his lip. "But I expect them to reject it. They will keep opposing me.” Silence. Obito runs a finger over and over the scars on his face, then shakes his head. "I don't want a war, but maybe after this, people will finally understand that I don't want anyone else to go through the hell that I went through either."

Obito thinks of the thousands of people who are going to die in his war and their loved ones.

"Although they are so willing to die just to stop me, I doubt they'll ever understand." His teeth grind. "I didn't give up on you for this."

A hug from Deidara was the first thing that made Obito really smile since the night Rin died.

"Deidara ... are you there?"

Feeling like he's fooling himself, Obito stands up. His head feels light, like he's had too much sake.

"You know what? When you fought Sasuke I was testing you too,” he says raising his voice. "I wanted to know if you would choose me or your art. Did you love me, Deidara? Maybe, but not enough. Just like Rin. She loved me, but not that way. Never enough." His voice fails him. "Not enough to be the first choice of either of you. Loving Rin made me like this. Loving you makes me weak."

Obito turns his back on the grave and looks up at the sky, hoping Deidara's fury will manifest itself. Nothing happens.

"This will be the last time I come here," he mutters, and leaves without saying goodbye, despite knowing he will regret it.

The next full moon begins on the tenth of October. It feels like a sign from fate.

* * *

Deidara stalks the chuunin pair from afar, waiting for them to drop their guard at any second. What appears to be the new edition of the Bingo Book sticks out of the pocket of one of them.

Sometimes Deidara is thankful for not having a ryo in his pocket and having to get creative to get what he wants. Others, he's also grateful deep down about being supposedly dead and having to be careful not to be spotted by anyone that may recognize him. He misses his art, but he would have died of boredom long ago if he could resort to explosions for every obstacle he gets through.

He would have made art with the ninjas in front of him just because they remind him too much of him and Tobi.

Deidara finds the perfect moment to take action when the chuunin stop to rest. He jumps off the branch and lands on the ground. He approaches slowly hiding behind the trunks of the trees. He creates a C-1 squirrel and sends it to steal the book. The guy doesn't even notice and Deidara smiles and shakes his head. His creation offers him the book and after undoing the jutsu and saving the clay, Deidara runs away. He climbs the trees and sits on a branch. Then he opens the book and starts turning the pages.

"Heh..."

Deidara looks at his own Bingo Book page, his photo crossed out in red ink, marked with red letters that spell "dead." Sooner or later someone would find out he's alive, but in the meantime, it might give him time to grow stronger and make the triumphal entry that an artist of his standing deserves.

His heart stops for a moment when several pages later, he sees Tobi. Deidara looks at the pencil drawing of his partner.

"I knew you'd make it, you dumbass," he mumbles and starts laughing, running his finger over the drawing.

The tongue in his right hand comes out to lick the paper.

"Hey!"

The certainty that Tobi is alive is the best news he can have. Deidara begins to wonder what he is doing at the moment and if he misses him. When they meet, he will make up to him.

Deidara continues to read the scant information on Tobi and when he reaches the bounty on his head, he blinks several times, rubbing his eyes. Tobi's price has gone up. A lot. Now it is even higher than his. Higher even than Itachi, the most expensive Akatsuki member except for Pein.

"What the fuck, Tobi!?"

Seeing that Tobi's Dangerousness Rating has gone from three to eight, Deidara is unable to react for a while and can't help feeling a throbbing pain in his chest. Yes, Tobi was hiding things from him. Deidara has several flaws, but he is not an idiot or delusional. In the ninja world, anyone who claims to have no secrets is lying. Deidara reviews each gesture, each moment they shared as he has done so many times but still cannot decipher Tobi. Then he decides that the only thing left for him to do is look for him and find out from himself. As soon as he gets stronger and kills Itachi, he'll go find Tobi.

A few pages later, Deidara's jaw drops, staring at Konan's page. God's Messenger, as Pein called her, marked as dead. His mind full of questions, who did it, how, what is left for Akatsuki without him, now without Konan, one of its basic pillars. After seeing Pein marked as dead, Deidara's hands start to sweat. The all-powerful leader, the Rinnegan bearer, has been defeated.

Maybe Akatsuki doesn't even exist anymore. Deidara needs to know what exactly has happened in that time of intensive training. Nothing makes sense. He feels some relief when he sees Kisame alive. He turns the next page slowly, fearing the worst.

Uchiha Itachi is dead.

Deidara throws the Bingo Book against a tree trunk, creates a hawk, and flies away faster than ever. The thought of returning to Iwagakure makes him gag, but he has no idea where to find Tobi and needs some answers. He needs to know everything. Deidara does not stop even when it rains or the wind chills his bones and it occurs to him that perhaps Tobi avenged him. He wouldn't mind that. Tobi might have been so sad when he died that he killed half the Akatsuki. He knows it's stupid, but he can't help but revel in the idea.

He arrives to Iwa at midnight. Adrenaline keeps him from being too tired after spending all that chakra flying. The light in the Tsuchikage Tower is still on. The situation must be awful if the old man hasn't gone to bed yet, Deidara thinks. He undoes the sculpture in mid-flight and lands onto the roof. Then he goes down to the open window and sits there. The old man is sleeping at his desk. Deidara rolls his eyes, hearing him snoring.

"Go to bed, you workaholic old geezer, hm!"

Onoki flinches and Deidara fears for a moment that he has given him a heart attack.

"D-deidara!" The Tsuchikage turns around, looking at him like he's a ghost. "You were dead!"

"Oh, really?" He asks, jumping into the office.

"They all think you are! Your mother thinks you are! That you let yourself be killed by that Uchiha kid, everyone thinks that! You don't know the shame you put us through!"

Something soured inside him at the memory of his mother. Deidara hasn't been there a minute and already wants to blow up a few things.

"How could I let myself be killed!? In any case I would have killed myself to take him with me! And I did it! I killed the last Uchiha! Is that what everyone thinks!? That he killed me!? I remember now why I fucked off, hm!"

Onoki gives him a long, stern look.

"You have no clue. As usual.” The old man clears his throat. "Have you been under a rock all this time? We are at war!"

Deidara raises both eyebrows.

"War," he murmurs.

"You didn't know that either." Onoki rises and floats across the room as he used to when he was still in the village. "What became of the Akatsuki? Aren't you going to help them? Have you had enough of that damned clan of lunatics? And what are you doing dressed like a farmer? Where is your shinobi pride?"

"You must be wide awake now if you can shout that loud." Deidara takes the Tsuchikage's chair. He hates feeling so clueless. "Update me and I'll tell you what I know about the Akatsuki."

* * *

Obito hears the almost imperceptible hiss of the bomb. He pushes Sasuke out of his way and becomes intangible. The C-1 goes through him.

"What...?" Obito whispers, and for a moment he thinks he's dreaming. One of those many dreams in which Deidara appears trying to kill him.

He stares at the explosion, a hundred meters ahead of the road. The shock wave messes up his tunic and hurts his eardrums, but Obito can't react until he hears his voice.

"What are you doing with this brat!?"

A Deidara with tangled hair and wild eyes attacks him head-on, kunai in hand. Obito teleports a few meters ahead. Deidara starts making seals frome a technique he doesn't know.

"So, this brat is my replacement, hm."

Dozens of insects tiny like flies come out of his hands.

"Deidara..."

Obito runs towards him, driven by the urge to hug him and never let go. The little insects stop him, spinning around Deidara so fast that they generate a blast of air. The current pushes Obito back. Sasuke draws his sword and charges at Deidara.

"Enjoy the power of my new work! It is titled, Boomnado!"

Deidara prepares his seal. Sasuke raises the sword, infusing it with electricity. Obito understands what's going on.

"Sasuke, don't get any closer!"

The boy doesn't listen to him.

"Katsu!"

The sword produces a great spark when colliding against the clay insects. Instead of exploding, they seem to evaporate. Sasuke falls back several meters as if carried away by a strong current, spitting blood, his body covered in lacerations. Obito picks him up before he hits the ground and carefully lays him down.

"I told you not to get any closer," he says.

"Why are you protecting him!?"

Obito doesn't answer, he just makes sure that none of the injuries are fatal. Deidara kicks his side.

"Answer! You fucking Uchiha!"

"Wind release," Obito says and stands up.

"Do you really think this brat would have been so tough to beat without his elemental advantage? There you have the answer,” Deidara snaps. "Anyway, I'm not interested in him anymore. I'm here because of you."

Obito's chest tightens. Deidara reaches into his clay bag, then Obito runs up to him, hugs him, and takes them both to a lonely place.

Deidara struggles to free himself trapped in his arms but Obito can't let go. His screams, his insults don't even sound real.

"You're alive," he whispers, "...You're fine."

A hand covers the hole in his mask and the tongue slides through the hole. Obito backs off and releases Deidara.

"As if that matters to you, you fucking piece of shit! Fuck you, hm!"

"I promise you I care! Nobody has mattered more to me in my life than you!"

Obito notices that he is starting to hyperventilate. He clears his mind and focuses on controlling his breathing. When Deidara grabs him by the robe and shakes him, it almost seems like it's happening to someone else.

"You waited for me to die to reveal all your lies! And on top of that, you ally yourself with the kid instead of killing him like you should have done! You didn't learn anything the whole time we were partners! I can't believe I was fooled by the least artistic idiot in the world! I'm going to pulverize you right now, Uchiha! You and your Sharingan!"

One last push almost brings him down. Deidara punches him in the stomach and Obito leans forward, grimacing.

"Speak up, you bastard!" Deidara yells, grabbing him by the hair.

"It was you who decided to jump into the fight against Sasuke," Obito says. "And up until now, I thought you had decided to activate that technique of yours and leave me alone. I thought you chose your art."

Deidara pulls his hair and forces him to look up.

"You didn't learn anything!" Deidara repeats. "Don't try to pretend you care about me now, hm!"

"I cared about you!" Obito exclaims. "I cared too much! I always had things so clear and suddenly you appear and ruin all my plans! I wish I could have stayed the way we were forever! I slowed down the capture of the tailed beasts just to be your partner for longer!"

Deidara hisses through gritted teeth.

"You say you slowed it down, but you didn't even take off your mask when we fucked... And what's the use of me ruining all your plans if you kept going, you big liar? If you cared so much you wouldn't be doing this shit, hm!"

"You're alive," Obito replies. "That changes everything."

"So you're doing this shit in my memory. That is even worse!"

"And the thing about not taking it off is not true. Do you remember what happened last time?" Deidara's face evens out, but his grip doesn't loosen. Obito reaches up a shaky arm and strokes his cheek with his thumb, afraid of being rejected. "I took it off..."

"Bullshit. We were in the dark and you just moved it aside. Another lie."

"...and I kissed you." Obito finishes.

Obito blushes when he remembers the only kiss on the lips he ever gave in his life. Deidara stares at him.

"Take off your mask," he orders.

Obito does so, without taking his eyes off Deidara's face. He notices him tense when he sees his sharingan for the first time, then his eyes drift slightly to the left.

"Shit. The Rinnegan too?" Deidara shakes his head. "Anything else?"

"I don't know," Obito says and tries to look away but Deidara holds his face and forces him to keep looking. "I've worn so many masks that I don't even know anymore..."

Obito studies Deidara's expression, it overwhelms him to see so many emotions mashed up together.

"If me being alive changes everything... What are you going to do now?"

"I..." Obito thinks of a way to make it up to him and soon he realizes that nothing will be enough. "If you want to kill me so badly, go ahead. Just for being you, senpai."

Deidara's eyes go wide.

"I can't believe I'm in..." Deidara bites his lip "...With an Uchiha. What is the merit of beating someone who lets himself be defeated!?"

"Then what do you propose?" Obito caresses the back of Deidara's hand. The tongue comes out and licks his face. He flushes again. "I owe you so much that I don't think we can ever be at peace."

Deidara tugs on his clothes again and before Obito can process it, he's kissing him. He doesn't react until Deidara's teeth close around his lower lip. Obito wraps him in his arms and, fearful of doing it wrong, kisses him back, needy, greedy. Deidara moans, jumps up and wraps his legs around his waist, rubbing himself onto him. Obito takes him by the butt and squeezes his buttocks with both hands in the same way that Deidara's hands bite and lick his cheeks.

Then Deidara retreats and when Obito chases him to keep kissing him, Deidara's hand covers his mouth, tongue pushing against his lips. Obito closes his mouth. The weird tongue still tries to get in.

"Stop this crappy plan."

Obito takes a deep breath. Deidara gets off him. His hands go after him, but soon they stop in their tracks.

"It's too late now," he says. Deidara's betrayed gaze pierces his soul. "If you only knew... Everything I've done. You know nothing about me. This mask is just one more."

"And how does that matter? I couldn't care less about your past! Live in the present, you idiot! Live in the fleeting moment, hm!"

Obito signals for Deidara to come closer.

"Come here. Let me hold you,” he whispers, longing for the warmth of his body.

Deidara looks down and smiles wryly. "You are hard."

"I know," Obito blushes. "J-just... Ignore that. Come... Come here."

Deidara doesn't go, so Obito walks up to him and gives him a hug. To his surprise, Deidara wraps his arms around his back.

"What's stopping you?" Deidara whispers.

"All the people I've murdered for this. I would be disrespecting them if I left everything now,” Obito responds, stroking Deidara's hair.

"And the ones you're about to murder in that war of yours, hm? Don't they matter to you?"

Obito shakes his head and squeezes Deidara tighter. There is a silence that he's afraid to break.

"I'm too involved in this to quit... But if you want to try and stop me, I won't say no to that."

"What!?" Deidara exclaims.

"I'm not going to let myself be defeated," Obito says, moving away from Deidara a little to look him in the eye, "but I beg you to. Beat the Sharingan. Beat the Rinnegan. Beat me, Deidara. I believe in your art."

Deidara's eyes shine and the beautiful smile he has longed for returns to his face.

"My art will stop you," Deidara says and Obito smiles back. "And then you'll show me what's behind those other masks."

"Then see you in the battlefield, Deidara-senpai," Obito replies and one last kiss seals the deal.

* * *

Deidara watches the full Moon rise from behind the clouds. The twisted plant that has sprouted from the Gedo statue looks horrible to him. The bud of a pink flower shines on the top. Then he crosses the battlefield, dodging ninjas from different nations.

"Kurotsuchi!" He exclaims, looking for her former teammate who fights against one of the tree's roots.

"Get back to your squad, Deidara!" Kurotsuchi yells at him.

Deidara throws a handful of C-1 spiders at the tentacle.

"Where is Naruto, hm?"

"What do you want him for?"

"He seems to have gotten strong enough already and I have a plan to end this war by myself, hm," he says proudly.

Kurotsuchi rolls her eyes.

"If you need him, then it's not by yourself," she replies.

"Well," Deidara shrugs. "It is my idea and also I am going to do almost everything so practically yes, it is as I say."

"And does it have to be him? Doesn't anyone else serve you?"

Golden flashes erupt from the opposite side of the battlefield.

"Nope. And don't ask because I'm not going to ruin the surprise for you. You better relax and watch the show, hm,” Deidara says and takes off running.

"Relax!? How the fuck do you want me to relax!? Deidara! What are you up to!?"

Deidara takes clay from his bags and chews it into his hands, then quickly makes a series of seals.

"C-5 Technique! Ukemochi!"

All his chakra drains from his body and enters the small sculpture that takes shape in his hands. The small anthropomorphic figure has a dango in one hand almost as big as her, the tongue reaches her feet and jumps in Deidara's hands pointing towards the sky with her weapon. Deidara gasps and falls to his knees, his vision blurs but Naruto, his entire body lit up like a flame, notices his presence and approaches him.

"I'm lucky you stopped punching me every time you see me, hm." Deidara coughs and offers him the figure. "Do you think you can throw this as far away as you can?"

Naruto looks at him raising an eyebrow.

"What is this thing?"

"They told me it's your birthday today, hm."

C-5 Ukemochi laughs on Naruto's hands and tickles his nose with her dango wand.

"How far, dattebayo?"

"There."

Deidara's finger points at the Moon. Naruto looks up at the sky and scratches the back of his neck.

"I always knew you were crazy," he says, narrowing his eyes.

"Why? The technique needs the Moon to activate. If there is no Moon, it cannot be activated... What's so crazy about that?"

"Well, here I come!" Naruto exclaims and without saying anything else he runs with the figure in his hand.

Deidara lies down, wheezing as he watches Naruto accumulate all the chakra he can in his arm and launch his sculpture towards the bright white Moon. Two trembling fingers go up, parallel to his face. Deidara waits and watches Obito on top of the ugly ten tails.

"Heh... I've won. Beat you and that crappy ultimate Uchiha technique."

Deidara struggles to sit up, without breaking the seal.

"Everyone look up! Look at the greatest work of art ever created! Art is an explosion!" The figure rises so fast it has started to burn. From there it looks like a small star moving away from Earth. Deidara clings to that thread of chakra that binds him to her and fills his lungs with air. "KATSU!"

The pale surface cracks more and more. Before disintegrating, the Moon shines so brightly that daylight comes back for a few seconds. Then comes the loudest noise Deidara has ever heard and an earthquake shakes the entire Earth, forcing all combatants to hold their feet to the ground with chakra. The tree of life dries up and turns to ash, as does the Ten Tails. The sky has been filled with hundreds of sparkling shards that shine like stars.

"I have defeated the Sharingan."

Deidara looks at the faces of those who pass by. No one seems to be quite sure of what just happened. Before lack of chakra could make him pass out, something engulfs him and the world swirls apart. He is once again in Obito's arms in a strange place full of black cubes that he cannot place well.

"Of all the crazy ideas in the world, I doubt that none will win over this one," Obito says.

"How does it feel when the greatest artist in the world kicks your ass, hm?" Deidara asks, the mystic palm that Obito applies makes him regain some strength.

Obito smiles, mismatched eyes gaze at him in awe.

"Thanks for kicking my ass," he whispers and takes his hand for a kiss, long and loaded with pent-up need and adoration.

Then comes a kiss on the lips, soft and sickly, a warm hug, and then Obito rests his head on his chest.

"That's what we're here for," Deidara says.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to write anything for this day, but the idea came at the last minute. I knew it was going to be a bit longer, but I couldn't resist. The fic changed a lot from its original idea, although the basics remained the same. In that filler episode where Dei stares at the moon and says "I've already found inspiration", I was always wondering what that meant. Possibly more than his own Pierrot studio scriptwriters. At first I thought he was going to create a moon sculpture with a super flat face, but then I started thinking. What if he wants to DESTROY THE MOON? Because it would be like OMG something that DEI WOULD DO. ????? And that led me to WHAT IF DEI BECOMES A HERO BY DESTROYING THE MOON? Art saved the world, defeated the Sharingan and an Uchiha recognized it.
> 
> There could be no happier ending. END.
> 
> Thanks for reading and happy Tobidei Week!


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